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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: wind · race · band · can · deal · squash · fork · prune

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. deal — to handle
  3. can — to be able to
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. race — humankind
  6. band — a music group
  7. fork — in a road
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. can — a tin
  10. wind — moving air
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. race — a contest
  13. squash — to crush
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. band — a ring
  16. can — a tin
  17. prune — to trim
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. race — the arms race
  20. squash — the sport
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. wind — moving air
  24. prune — to trim

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com